


what a family we are

by einsKai



Series: Peter's Strange Iron Dads [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Author is trans, Family, French translation available, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Trans Male Character, Trans Peter Parker, Trans Tony Stark, Transphobia, Vietnamese Translation Available, aka they gave me a reason to finally write trans peter, inspired by @irnstrvnge on twitter, seriously ned and mj are the best friends, strange and tony are good dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 08:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14712620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/einsKai/pseuds/einsKai
Summary: “Peter? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”“I couldn’t stay.”“Who said it?”Or: Peter is feeling dysphoric and his dads help him out





	what a family we are

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note to start this off with:
> 
> I myself am a trans individual! I identify as agender and my pronouns are they/them. Headcanons about Spiderman Homecoming have helped me greatly get through my bad days in the last few months and I've been wanting to write trans!Peter for a while now. So I'd like to thank @irnstrvnge for giving me this opportunity.  
> Everything in this fic is based on my own personal experience and it's how I experience being trans. I am aware that everyone experiences being trans in a different way! So don't apply anything in this fic to anyone but me :D
> 
> This has been my announcement! Now please enjoy this short fic!
> 
> \- Kai
> 
> Edit, 27/05/18: There's a [Vietnamese translation](https://www.wattpad.com/579546255-ironstrange-transfiction-what-a-family-we-are) by [kuro2612](https://www.wattpad.com/user/kuro2612) on Wattpad! If you speak Vietnamese check them out and leave some love, I'm sure a lot of work went into the translation!
> 
> Edit, 05/06/18: There's a [French translation](https://www.wattpad.com/579202489-what-a-family-we-are-ironstrange-family-traduction) by [littleducklingg](https://www.wattpad.com/user/littleducklingg) on wattpad now! If you speak French check them out and leave some love, I'm sure a lot of work went into the translation!

“Peter? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”  
One of Peter’s fathers, the Master of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Stephen Strange, stood in the doorway to Peter’s room.

“Sorry”, Peter said, his voice small, “I couldn’t stay.”

“What do you mean, you couldn’t stay? Did something happen? Was it Flash again?”

“No, no, Flash didn’t do anything, please don’t open a portal to his house like you did last time-“

Strange nodded slowly. He got that he wouldn’t get anywhere with questioning his son like this. With a quick hand movement he opened a portal to the lab, where he knew his husband was working at the moment. “Tony, I think our son needs you.”

Only a second later the last member of their family arrived at Peter’s room. The image that presented itself to Tony was one he knew very well – not from Peter by any means, but from himself.

His son was sitting on his bed, back leaned against the wall, his knees pulled up to his chest. He was wearing that giant sweater Ned and MJ had gotten him for his birthday a few months ago and his face was stained with tears. His binder was laying somewhere on the floor, next to his backpack. Some books and folders had fallen out of the backpack, because it hadn’t been closed completely when it had fallen over. In other words: He was a mess.

Tony felt a deep rage bubble up in his chest. His room had looked like this too; _he_ had looked like this, many, many times. Too many times if you asked him or anyone else who had gone through a similar time.

He walked up to the bed, careful not to step on anything on the floor and sat down next to his son. He didn’t initiate the contact, but as soon as Peter felt his father next to him he leaned against him for support.

“Who said it?”, Tony asked. He knew Peter would understand. Stephen, who was still standing by the door, looked a little lost, so Tony gestured for him to come closer. His husband silently complied and sat down on the other side of their son. Peter relaxed a little, surrounded by his fathers’ presences.

“Our PE teacher was sick today so they had a substitute come in. And he didn’t let me change with the boys. And he called me-“

“Don’t say it. It’s called a ‘deadname’ for a reason”, Stephen interrupted him. Tony threw him a thankful look.

Peter took a shaky breath. He was about to cry again, Tony saw the tears in his eyes.

“And when I talked to Ned and MJ at recess… he came up to us and said-“, he hiccupped, “he said ‘quit the girl-talk Ned, come be a real man with the other boys and play soccer in your break. The chick’s don’t want men who don’t have a strong body’.”

“And then you went home?”

“MJ began fighting him and Ned went with me to grab my bag. They noticed how I was feeling and helped me.”

Tony nodded. He was glad that his son had friends like this. Every kid should have friends like that.

“Okay listen Pete”, he said then, “There are always dumbasses like him around us. And we are the ones that get to feel bad about ourselves for a minute, a day or any amount of time we remember their words. He probably doesn’t even notice that what he is saying is hurting people around him. Or he notices and knows and he’s a sick bastard who enjoys it. But Peter, I swear to god, nothing a substitute teacher says or does will ever change anything about you, or your identity.”

Peter looked up at Tony through more tears. “When I told him that I was a boy he said ‘oh, you’re one of those. That’s something you’ll grow out of eventually’ and now I’m questioning if I’m-“

“Wait, let me stop you right there”, Tony interrupted, “You’re certainly not wrong about anything you think you are. If you say your name is Peter then your name is Peter. If you decide that you’re not comfortable with ‘Peter’ in a few years, then that’s fine. Remember that you thought you liked girls in second grade? Well, it turned out that you were right, but you also like boys and everyone else. See? Labels change, but _you don’t_. No matter what word you use to describe yourself with, it’s just a word.”

“Gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, cis, trans, nonbinary, all of these are just words Peter”, Stephen said, “And while they may feel like they define you, it’s actually you who defines them. And if a word doesn’t fit you anymore it’s just like with old t-shirts. You throw them away and get a new one. And you don’t owe the words anything.”

Tony smiled at his husband. Being with him had taught both of them lots of things.

“What your dad said is right Peter”, he said, “Even if you decide to change any label about you, be it the gender you identify with, your sexuality, or your name, you name it, it won’t ever change who you are and who you are to us.”

Peter was crying now, but the tension in his body eased and he relaxed.

“Thank you”, he whispered, “I didn’t know that this was what I needed to hear, but yes. Thank you.”

“Do you want anything? Hot chocolate?”, Stephen asked, but Peter yawned as an answer.

“I think I just need to sleep a little. I’ll set an alarm, okay?”

Tony nodded and he and Stephen got up from Peter’s bed, so he could lie down. The husbands closed the door behind them and then stood still for a minute.

“Do you call MJ or do I call her?”, Stephen asked then, quiet, so they wouldn’t disturb their sleeping son.

“I have a better idea, you text her, asking for that teacher’s current location, then I put on my suit and you get your cape and we make a dramatic entrance and scare the shit out of that asshole substitute.”

Stephen was already typing. He was glad that he and Tony got along with Peter’s friends enough to have their phone numbers.

“Want to call the others too? I can see some of them wanting to say something to that substitute teacher too.”

“I’m not calling Steve “I’ve been frozen for a hundred years” Rogers to deal with a transphobic individual.”

“I’m not talking about Cap specifically, but I take it that you don’t want to call them.”

“He’s our son, so it’s our duty to go to his school and deal with the problem.”

“Through a portal. In your Iron Man armor.”

“Exactly. That’s what they get for messing with my son.”

Stephen shook his head, but the smile on his face was an affectionate one.

What a family they were.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you had fun reading it!
> 
> It's my first time writing for this fandom, so I hope you enjoyed it :D
> 
> Have a nice day!
> 
> \- Kai


End file.
